Creator Of Internet Suicide Site Arrested
Police in Japan arrested a man who ran an Internet suicide site for allegedly killing a woman who paid him to kill her, an official said Thursday.
Kazunari Saito, a 33-year-old electrician, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly giving Sayaka Nishizawa, 21, sleeping pills and suffocating her in April, a police official in Kanagawa said, speaking on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Nishizawa contacted the suspect through an Internet suicide site he hosted and paid him the equivalent of US$1,700, according to the official.
Her body was found on April 16 in her apartment in Kanagawa, just south of Tokyo, the official said. Her father found the body and police had been investigating the case after they found a note suggesting suicide, but her cell phone and keys were missing, Kyodo News agency reported.
The suspect told police the woman had asked him to "see through" the dying process, Kyodo said.
Saito set up his site in June in 2006 to give tips on how to commit suicide, the agency said.
Police officials could not immediately comment if his Web site was still functioning.
According to the Yomiuri, Japan's largest daily, the woman wrote him in early April saying: "I want to die, how can I die?"
Saito wrote back: "I will give you lots of sleeping pills. I will help."
It was not clear why the woman wanted to kill herself or why she needed help in doing so.
The police official also confirmed Saito had been arrested on charges of violating the narcotic and psychotropic drug control law. The official could not give other details.
But Kyodo and other Japanese media said Saito was arrested in July and has been prosecuted for allegedly selling sleeping pills to some 10 people through his site. Kyodo said one of them had died and police were investigating.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world, and the number of people taking their own lives topped 30,000 for a ninth straight year in 2006.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Kazunari Saito, a 33-year-old electrician, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly giving Sayaka Nishizawa, 21, sleeping pills and suffocating her in April, a police official in Kanagawa said, speaking on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Nishizawa contacted the suspect through an Internet suicide site he hosted and paid him the equivalent of US$1,700, according to the official.
Her body was found on April 16 in her apartment in Kanagawa, just south of Tokyo, the official said. Her father found the body and police had been investigating the case after they found a note suggesting suicide, but her cell phone and keys were missing, Kyodo News agency reported.
The suspect told police the woman had asked him to "see through" the dying process, Kyodo said.
Saito set up his site in June in 2006 to give tips on how to commit suicide, the agency said.
Police officials could not immediately comment if his Web site was still functioning.
According to the Yomiuri, Japan's largest daily, the woman wrote him in early April saying: "I want to die, how can I die?"
Saito wrote back: "I will give you lots of sleeping pills. I will help."
It was not clear why the woman wanted to kill herself or why she needed help in doing so.
The police official also confirmed Saito had been arrested on charges of violating the narcotic and psychotropic drug control law. The official could not give other details.
But Kyodo and other Japanese media said Saito was arrested in July and has been prosecuted for allegedly selling sleeping pills to some 10 people through his site. Kyodo said one of them had died and police were investigating.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world, and the number of people taking their own lives topped 30,000 for a ninth straight year in 2006.
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Must not be materialistic enough--if they are so willing to vacate this world for an ethereal one.
On the other hand, suicide or Seppuku or hara-kiri was stigmatized in Japan for centuries and did not come into vogue until some time into the feudal period--when after one Shogun performed it and did it with such panache that the others who followed felt compelled to mimic that one act. Before then, Japanese did not practice ritualized suicide. During the 19th Century, the killing fell out of vogue and indeed when called upon to find pilots willing to self destruct for the country in WWII, it was not as easy a task as many might think.
Because many suicides are tied to dishonor or even the commission of criminal acts, there has always also been a measure of stigma to it--the import being a person had commit such a heinous sin, that their personal recognition of it and the only way to atone was to destroy themself. This means that many suicides bear the taint and question of what the person must have done to feel compelled to atone in such a manner.
Scandinavian countries also have a high suicide rate (Sweden?) and it is attributed to the long, dark winter months and lack of sunshine (ie depression)
Posted by Klingon69
It does have a history, being associated with the loss of "honor", and while socially understood, is still illegal.
Sort of like opium in China, the parents of today''s lawmakers used it, it is understood culturally, but is still illegal.
What is more disturbing is that 30,000 people per year do it, demonstrating that something is very amiss in the high pressure, ultra materialistic modern Japanese society.
WOw, that would take all of about 3 seconds to find out!
Even if the site is not up, it would be functional in archive.org